Der Sturm
by Teriyaki Chicken
Summary: Full Metal Panic. As the largest hurricane Japan has ever seen approaches Tokyo, a different storm is rising. One with Sagara Sousuke at the eye of it...


Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Panic. Please don't sue me.

Chapter One: Overture

It was to one of the largest storms the world, let alone Japan, had ever seen. Around the world meteorologists and weather analysts wet themselves. The hurricane, they said, had roughly the strength of an atomic bomb. And although much of that power would burn itself out by the time it hit Tokyo, enough would be left to smash the city apart.

The hurricane, referred to the world round as "Der Ubersturm", a name coined by a German meteorologist that stuck, mostly because it was catchy and fun to say, was set to hit on Saturday. On Friday, Tokyo was, to say the least, fucking insane with fear and panic.

The panic spread like a disease. All roads and paths leading out of Tokyo were swamped with cars trying to escape. Several thousand people gave up trying to drive out of Tokyo and there was a small exodus out of the city on foot. Meanwhile, in the streets, there was looting and general chaos. It was because of this that Sousuke moved into Kaname's apartment for the time being.

It had been a strange conversation when he brought it up to her.

"Sousuke!" Kaname said before trailing off, somewhere between excitement, surprise, disgust and shock. They were riding home on the subway on Monday. The insanity had not yet reached its peak and so, the trains were still running. This one was filled with people, most of whom were, predictably, talking about the storm.

"There was a riot last night in Roppongi," Sousuke commented, looking out the window. "Five people were killed and two women were raped."

"I heard about that. But… That's Roppongi…"

Neither of them had said anything for a few moments.

"Hey, Sousuke. Can't Mithril, you know, air lift you out of here or something?"

"In theory, yes."

"So why don't you go?"

Sousuke looked at Kaname with disbelief.

"I won't allow a storm to interfere with my duty. You will be staying in Tokyo, correct?"

Kaname was and she told him so. She had a few reasons: One, her dad was paying a fortune for her apartment and she felt some sort of Confucian responsibility to stay there and not abandon it. Secondly, her building was a very new one, not even three years old. Therefore, it had the newest in earthquake protection which, Kaname figured, would carry over to protecting against storms. All she had to do was put twenty or so layers of duct tape on the windows and store up some food and she figured she was ready.

Plus, she simply didn't have anywhere else to go. It would be too difficult to get a plane to New York, where her father lived, what with all outbound flights from Tokyo. She could, of course, have gone with Kyouko's family when they went to relatives in Hokkaido but that would've been strange. 

"So," Kaname started again. "You want to stay over at my apartment until this all blows over?"

"Or have you stay at mine."

She felt herself blushing.

"I… I don't know… I mean…" She struggled for the right words. Failing to find them, she used her old stand by. "Okay, but no perverted stuff! If I find you doing anything strange, I'll toss you out in the storm! Understand?"

"Understood. I'll move my equipment over to your residence this evening."

That was Monday. The two spent three days, plus an evening, together. School had been cancelled indefinitely (Sousuke had disapproved: "Discipline, such as attending to your duty even in dire straits, is just as important as academic skills.") so most of the time, they spent at home. Together. Alone.

That first evening, Kaname had cooked. She made soup, sushi and Teriyaki steak for the two of them and they had eaten in silence. After dinner, Sousuke set about duct taping the windows. Kaname had already gotten a good five layers over all of them. By ten, Sousuke had twenty-five. Kaname sat and watched him. He was totally efficient in his task. He worked without tiring, like a robot. No emotion, no feeling, just work.

So, she threw a book at him. It was a small book, a volume of manga. She aimed it at his right shoulder. He saw it coming out of the corner of his eye and twisted, deflecting it with his elbow. 

Sousuke just looked at Kaname oddly. "What was that for?"

Kaname herself couldn't answer. She tried a few times to say something and finally succeeded after about ten seconds. "I wanted to see if you'd do anything."

"I don't understand."

Kaname smiled sadly. "I understand."

~

As Kaname brushed her teeth before getting ready for bed, Sousuke came into the bathroom, shirtless. He held his own toothbrush and respective paste and began to brush. Kaname felt the familiar blush coming into her cheeks. She couldn't help it. Sousuke had, through a life of constant fighting and training, developed the ideal "Greek" male physique. The kind that guys on soap operas and in romance novels have.

So, Kaname did what any normal, healthy, hormone charged teenage girl would do: She started checking him out.

In the course of her in depth checking, which shall be left to the dear reader's imagination, Kaname noticed a light scar running across Sousuke's right shoulder blade. She spit and rinsed and looked at the scar more closely.

It wasn't so much a scar as it was a heavy gash. About eight inches long, it looked as though it had been delivered by a battle-axe. Still, it had healed well, which explained why she had noticed it when they had gone to the beach.

"Is something wrong, Chidori?" Sousuke looked at her oddly, his mouth covered in tooth paste foam.

"Ahh…. Ahh… Not really…" Kaname said quickly, scratching her head. "But, say, that scar on your shoulder? What's that from?"

Sousuke gave her another odd look. He too spat, rinsed and wiped his mouth with a Kleenex. Then, he reached around and ran his fingers over the scar.

"I don't remember."

"Oh."

She touched the scar too, stroking the wound and his fingers gently. "It must've hurt a lot."

"I don't remember."

"Yeah but…"

Then, she had an idea. She bent her head down slightly and planted her lips in the middle of the gash. Sousuke gave the quietest gasp as something warm, wet and pleasurable touched the fried nerves.

"There," Kaname said, smiling and blushing. "All better."

This time, it was Sousuke who couldn't say anything.

~

That's how it went for those three days. No fights or arguments. Small encounters that may or may not have meant anything at all. Still, Kaname had decided, she liked living with Sousuke. He was, in his own way, almost sweet. He was extremely considerate; all she had to do was ask him once and the thing would be as good as done.

And Sousuke seemed to loosen up a bit. He spent most of his time reading. Every once in awhile, he added a new layer to the windows, with were now more duct tape than glass. 

Kaname, on the other hand, spent her time playing video games or checking up on her friends or surfing the internet. So, in other words, not much different than normal.

Come evening, she made dinner for the two of them and they ate together, mostly in silence. And then they watched TV, again together, on the couch in her living room.

Something was different about Friday evening. That day, there had been a sort of unspoken uneasiness. The storm was set to arrive the next day. The fact was, they might not wake up tomorrow.

"One more day," Kaname said, as she sat down next to Sousuke. He grunted as they watched a rerun of the last episode of the Great Teacher Onizuka drama.

"I really liked this show when it was on…" Kaname murmured to no one in particular. She laid her head on Sousuke's arm for no particular reason. Damned if she needed one, at this point in time.

"Sensei, what should I do?" cried Toroko as "Poison" played over the flash backs of Onizuka's career.

"Whatever you want!" Onizuka yelled as he threw off two security guards. He pointed at Toroko. "Do whatever you want! You should be you!"

Another scene. Onizuka was hanging a student off the side of a building.

"Idiot! Live your life how you want to! There's no such thing as a rehearsal for life!"

It was at that moment that the door bell rang. 

"Sousuke-"

He was already two steps ahead of her. Sousuke opened the door and opened his mouth to welcome the visitor but then stopped cold.

"Sousuke?" Kaname asked after a second. "Who is it?"

She twisted around in her seat to get a good look. And standing there was a fellow she knew quite well. He was tall, Asian, had a couple of nasty looking scars on his face and bore a shit eating grin.

"Yo, Kashim."

And then he punched Sousuke in the stomach.

End of Chapter One

Author's Notes: Well, my first fic since Le Jeu Sinistre which a whole bunch load of people liked, or so I have been lead to believe. I've not ruled out the possibility that the good reviews were simply a clever ploy by someone like Marcus or Ming or even Ketara (you know who you are) to undermine me. But, yeah, I'm really paranoid. Rightfully so but that's irrelevant.

Anyway, if all goes as planned, this fic will be much, much weirder than Le Jeu. That's what reading Lord of the Flies, Ordinary People, American Gods and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms does to ya'.


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